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HarmoKnight tells the story of Tempo, a young boy training to be a rhythmic warrior who’s placed with the responsibility of delivering the mysterious musical weapon he discovers to the ruler in Symphony City. On his travels he’ll face enemies galore, boss battles as well as receive some help from a few friends. It’s a silly, quirky tale told wonderfully through comic-like cutscenes and often humorous dialogue.
As you may have guessed by the title, Harmoknight has a strong focus on music requiring the player to follow on-screen prompts in time with a beat. You could almost describe this as a musical platformer of sorts in a similar vein to that of the Bit.Trip Runner series. For a majority of the game your character, Tempo will automatically run across the screen while you jump over pits, hit and dodge enemies and collect special musical notes all in time with the music. A mistimed jump or attack will result in you missing precious notes or even taking damage reducing your final score. While passing a stage and gaining a silver blossom award won’t prove too tough, going after more notes to grab a gold will truly test your skill.
While Harmoknight may be very simple to get into, perfectionists will find enough depth here to keep them interested. Optional drum or tambourine flowers in the background can net extra points while charging your staff will earn double notes should you land it successfully. It’s a great risk/reward system that will constantly bring you back to try and best your previous scores. It’s just a shame there is no sort of online leaderboards as this game would have been a perfect fit.
Boss battles offer a nice change in the formula, throwing multiple button prompts at you at once. You’ll not only need to replicate the four/five button combo, but also time it to the beat too. Two extra playable characters also offer twists and tweaks on the standard platforming gameplay bringing bow and arrows and a mini monkey into the mix. You’ll find yourself also riding mine carts and flying on the back of a helpful steed. Overall the fifty plus stages offer a nice amount of variety and with faster, tougher stages to unlock too there’s also a pretty decent challenge too.
While Harmoknight is definitely challenging and rewarding at the same time, the difficulty curve can sometimes flail about randomly at times one minute being a cake walk, the next tough as nails. You may also find yourself becoming frustrated at the accuracy in which the game requires you to time your actions. Most of the time it can seem fair, but others punishingly brutal as you manage to miss a crash cymbal for the third time in a row.
Visually the game sports a bright, colourful world complete with a number of environments blending deserts, grassy banks and snowy peaks with a quirky mix of musical instruments. It really creates something totally unique. Little touches like a “Mario World” styled map and unlockable music and artwork round off an excellently presented package. Speaking of music, the game offers a varied amount of genres from rock to jazzy to metal ranging in quality. More often than not a tune will have you humming along, however some fall dangerous close to bland, making it difficult to get a good feel for the beat leading to many a missed note. Also thrown in for good measure are a handful of Pokemon themed tunes that should please fans of Game Freak and the Pokemon series itself.
Harmoknight is a quirky little title that will immediately appeal thanks to its charm and bright design. Of course it doesn’t hurt that the gameplay itself is addictive and extremely fun too. Another hit for the Nintendo eShop.
8.5/10
HarmoKnight tells the story of Tempo, a young boy training to be a rhythmic warrior who’s placed with the responsibility of delivering the mysterious musical weapon he discovers to the ruler in Symphony City. On his travels he’ll face enemies galore, boss battles as well as receive some help from a few friends. It’s a silly, quirky tale told wonderfully through comic-like cutscenes and often humorous dialogue.
As you may have guessed by the title, Harmoknight has a strong focus on music requiring the player to follow on-screen prompts in time with a beat. You could almost describe this as a musical platformer of sorts in a similar vein to that of the Bit.Trip Runner series. For a majority of the game your character, Tempo will automatically run across the screen while you jump over pits, hit and dodge enemies and collect special musical notes all in time with the music. A mistimed jump or attack will result in you missing precious notes or even taking damage reducing your final score. While passing a stage and gaining a silver blossom award won’t prove too tough, going after more notes to grab a gold will truly test your skill.
While Harmoknight may be very simple to get into, perfectionists will find enough depth here to keep them interested. Optional drum or tambourine flowers in the background can net extra points while charging your staff will earn double notes should you land it successfully. It’s a great risk/reward system that will constantly bring you back to try and best your previous scores. It’s just a shame there is no sort of online leaderboards as this game would have been a perfect fit.
Boss battles offer a nice change in the formula, throwing multiple button prompts at you at once. You’ll not only need to replicate the four/five button combo, but also time it to the beat too. Two extra playable characters also offer twists and tweaks on the standard platforming gameplay bringing bow and arrows and a mini monkey into the mix. You’ll find yourself also riding mine carts and flying on the back of a helpful steed. Overall the fifty plus stages offer a nice amount of variety and with faster, tougher stages to unlock too there’s also a pretty decent challenge too.
While Harmoknight is definitely challenging and rewarding at the same time, the difficulty curve can sometimes flail about randomly at times one minute being a cake walk, the next tough as nails. You may also find yourself becoming frustrated at the accuracy in which the game requires you to time your actions. Most of the time it can seem fair, but others punishingly brutal as you manage to miss a crash cymbal for the third time in a row.
Visually the game sports a bright, colourful world complete with a number of environments blending deserts, grassy banks and snowy peaks with a quirky mix of musical instruments. It really creates something totally unique. Little touches like a “Mario World” styled map and unlockable music and artwork round off an excellently presented package. Speaking of music, the game offers a varied amount of genres from rock to jazzy to metal ranging in quality. More often than not a tune will have you humming along, however some fall dangerous close to bland, making it difficult to get a good feel for the beat leading to many a missed note. Also thrown in for good measure are a handful of Pokemon themed tunes that should please fans of Game Freak and the Pokemon series itself.
Harmoknight is a quirky little title that will immediately appeal thanks to its charm and bright design. Of course it doesn’t hurt that the gameplay itself is addictive and extremely fun too. Another hit for the Nintendo eShop.
8.5/10